One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors:
Plato

Monday, August 24, 2015

Karma's a bitch isn't it?

I recall during the 2006 election Liberal commentators, including myself, stating that there were more important things to talk about during that election than Adscam. However, we were gleefully shouted down by Conservatives, and Dippers for that matter.Now, as the slow drip of the revelations from the Duffy trial slowly dissolve the Conservative election campaign I cannot help but notice that many Conservative commentators, both the Conservative apologists in the media and non-professional ones at large are stating that there are more important things to talk about than the Duffy trial.

I happen to agree with them. The Canadian economy is in a recession and the outlook for the short and medium future is not great. Oil prices have not hit their floor yet and that floor is going to be lower than originally expected because of the expected influx of Iranian oil into the oil market. Dozens of manufacturing companies fled Canada in the last decade taking over 1 million jobs with them. They are not coming back which means the lower Canadian dollar will not have the same positive impact on exports and the economy as before. Finally, the only thing holding up the Canadian economy at its current level is the housing market and record consumer debt, which are approaching their limits before a major correction occurs. That is what we should be talking about. How each party is going to deal with that situation is what Canadians should be demanding.

All that being said, I have no sympathy for the Conservatives and their sympathizers. Their holier-than-now attitude from 2004-2006 was infuriating and the current political travails that they are dealing with as a result of rampant corruption in the PMO is something they are going to have to wear for awhile.

Maybe these last few days will teach them something about humility. Not Stephen Harper and his gang. They would not know humility if it came up and kicked them in the nuts. But perhaps Conservatives at large will learn a little bit about it.